Red Sox cut ties with Sandoval

Friday

Jul 14, 2017 at 3:50 PMJul 14, 2017 at 10:17 PM

Bill Koch, Providence Journal

BOSTON – Any comparison with the failed free agent tenure of Jack Clark is not a positive one in Boston.

When high-profile flops are discussed among Red Sox fans, the former San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals slugger invariably comes to mind. Carl Crawford would be of the more recent vintage, the dynamic Tampa Bay Rays outfielder who lost whatever spark he carried in the field and at the plate when he penned a $142-million deal with Boston prior to the 2011 season.

Pablo Sandoval has now been officially added to that list, as the third baseman’s ignominious end finally came on Friday. The Red Sox designated the former World Series hero for assignment, closing the door on a player who parlayed three championship rings with the Giants into a five-year, $95-million contract that is only half finished.

“We were not a better club if he was on our club at the major league level,” Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said before Friday’s matchup with the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. “It was a tough decision, but it was one that we thought was the right one.”

Think of how damning a statement that is by Dombrowski. The Red Sox are now paying a player more than $48 million over the next 21/2 years to just go away, and Dombrowski pulled the trigger on Sandoval with the full blessing of principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner. Boston is content to go ahead with two players who carried a combined 103 games of major league experience into Friday and a rehabbing former All-Star who has played more than 100 games in a season only twice since breaking into the majors in 2012.

Deven Marrero, Tzu-Wei Lin and Brock Holt are the current internal solutions for the Red Sox at the hot corner, a trio that could be swept aside entirely at the trade deadline if Dombrowski decides to deal for help elsewhere. Chicago White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier has been the popular name mentioned as the fire sale continues on the South Side, but Dombrowski wasn’t tipping his hand on Friday. Marrero started against Yankees left-hander Jordan Montgomery and Lin is likely to return to the lineup against right-hander Luis Severino on Saturday.

“We’re comfortable with what we have at this point,” Dombrowski said. “But I also say that you’re always open-minded to getting better.”

It is the smallest of sample sizes, certainly, but Lin (11 for 35 against right-handers) and Marrero (13 for 36, three homers against left-handers) have shown some platoon capabilities in 2017. Both players have displayed superior defensive ability to Sandoval, saving a combined four runs through 39 starts according to Fangraphs. The same metric concluded Sandoval allowed six more runs than the average third baseman through just 25 starts in 2017.

“That was the one thing you’d like to say would be more consistent,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “And I’m not talking about range. I’m talking about making the plays that have to be made.”

Then there’s Holt, an American League All-Star as a utility player in 2015 who continues his rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket in Syracuse this weekend. Holt played eight of nine days leading into the break between Portland and the PawSox, showing no ill effects from the vertigo that landed him on the disabled list and had him shut down altogether May 21. His activation date Thursday could force the Red Sox in an additional roster move.

“The drop-dead date is the 20th of this month,” Farrell said. “We would be optimistic that he would return to us even before the 20th.”

The designation of Sandoval and release of Jhonny Peralta – who went 8 for 40 in a 10-game stint with Pawtucket – cleared the way for the promotion of Rafael Devers, who ranks No. 12 overall on the MLB.com prospect list and No. 1 overall in Boston’s organization. The 20-year-old Devers tore through the Eastern League with Double-A Portland over the first half, totaling 18 homers, 19 doubles and a .575 slugging percentage. His age and relatively limited exposure to the upper levels of the minor leagues dissuaded the Red Sox from using the same immediate path that saw Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada skip directly from the Sea Dogs to the major leagues.

“I don’t want to put it on his back that we’re counting on him in a pennant race,” Dombrowski said. “He should go to Triple-A and play like he’s capable of playing and we’ll see what takes place at that time.”